Midwest Rail Rangers Education Officer Kandace Tabern prepares to board a 1917 heritage subway car for a ride on the main line

Before we ride the rails... we wanted to plug the New York Transit Museum.

If you are planning a visit to New York City, one of the “must do”
activities is a visit to the New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn. No,
admittedly, it’s not quite as popular as visiting the Statue of Liberty
and Ellis Island… or perhaps attending a Broadway play or shopping 5th
Avenue over in Manhattan… but for transportation and rail enthusiasts,
the time spent there can be as equally rewarding and exciting.

One of the most unique and interesting features about the New York
Transit Museum is the fact it is actually located in a historical
subway station. Not too many other transit museums anywhere in the
world can make that claim. About ten years ago… before we became
freelance writers for TrainWeb.com (somewhere around May 2009)… we had
the chance to visit the museum and tour many of the historical subway
cars in their collection.

The subway station that houses the museum features one center
island platform and two tracks; it was originally named Court Street.
It was only in operation between April 1936 and June 1946. Even
though not a single commuter has passed through the entrances or exits
in 73 years… and most of the stairs up to neighborhood streets have
been sealed for decades… it still technically is considered an “active”
(all-be-it decommissioned) subway station. Trains are moved into and
out of the exhibits at the New York Transit Museum using a tunnel
between the station platforms and the outer tracks at the
Hoyt-Schermerhorn Station… which still serves the very busy A, C, and G
subway lines.

The New York Transit Museum has been in operation now for 41
years. It actually welcomed visitors for the first time on our nation’s
bicentennial – July 4, 1976. Many patrons of the museum don’t realize
the original plan called for the displays to be just a temporary… open
for about two months. The original admission was one regular MTA Subway
token! The exhibits became so popular that it remained open and
transitioned into becoming a permanent museum. Today, the museum
provides an excellent overview history of the public transport system
in New York City… starting with its early construction around 1900.
There are heaps of information and photos. Plus, the ads from those
earlier days really take you back.

Definitely add the New York Transit Museum to your next New York
City trip – it’s located at 99 Schermerhorn Street in Brooklyn. Current
hours are from 10:00am to 4:00pm Tuesday-Friday and from 11:00am to
5:00pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Note that the museum is normally
closed Mondays and most holidays. Admission is $10 for adults,
and just $5 for children (ages 2-17) and seniors (who are 62+).

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Even though a visit to the New
York Transit Museum is a fun thing to do any day… if you can time your
visit to coincide to when one of their special “Nostalgia Rides” is
being offered… you will be in for an extra special treat. Riding on a
main line of the New York City Subway system in a car that is over 100
years old is almost guaranteed to be the highlight of your trip to the
“Big Apple”! It’s definitely out-of-the-ordinary and something
your neighbors who visited New York City probably didn’t get to do. In
full disclosure here… for out-of-town visitors who need to book flights
many months in advance… it’s not necessarily easy to hit one of these
rides, as they are offered once every few month. In fact, I have
probably been to New York City about 20 times over the past 10 years,
and have never seemed to be able to hit one of the museum’s “Nostalgia
Rides” Days. You just have to keep watching the special section of
their website that announces these trips (Nostalgia Rides - New York Transit Museum) and be a little flexible with your travel plans.

Luckily, that all recently changed for us… as we were able to head
out and catch the New York Transit Museum’s special “Beach Bound: Coney
Island Nostalgia Ride” on Saturday, July 20, 2019. The “All
Aboard” sounded and the train departed at 10:00am that morning from the
96th Street/2nd Avenue stop (which is the beginning of the Q Line). The
station is located on the border of Manhattan’s Upper East Side and
East Harlem Neighborhoods. The outbound part of the excursion took
about two hours to arrive at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue stop,
which today marks the end of the D, F, N, and Q lines. Passengers
were given about four hours to walk over to Coney Island and explore
the amusement park with its famed Cyclone roller coaster, the Wonder
Wheel and Luna Park… and of course, the beach. A visit wouldn’t also be
complete with eating a World’s famous Nathan hot dog. Those who rode
the trip with the New York Transit Museum were given the option of
either re-boarding the “Nostalgia Ride” at 4:00pm and returning to the
city… or staying at Coney Island to have dinner and watch the sunset
(and returning to the city on a regular subway train).

It was on the return ride that we met up with MTA Supervisor Bill
Wall who oversees the historical collection, who spent time with us
talking about the New York Transit Museum and the history of some of
the cars on the train we were riding.

Most of our interview with Bill took place aboard one of the 1930s IND R1-9 cars.

Bill explained, “When the Independent Subway System (IND) opened
its Eighth Avenue line in 1932, newly designed rolling stock went into
service. The series was called R-1 because the cars were ordered under
contract R-1, or Revenue Contract 1, and all subsequent cars ordered by
the city were given an “R” designation followed by a series
number. Car 100 was the first of the 300 cars in the R-1 series
to be delivered to New York City.”

According to Bill, the R-1 car combined the best feature of IRT
cars (speed) with the best of the BMT (large passenger capacity).
The R-1 cars’ most notable innovation was the 4 sets of double doors on
each side to allow for faster loading and unloading of
passengers. Devices making it impossible for passengers to hold
doors open were also new and expected to further cut loading time and
reduce passenger injuries.

Each 60-foot-long car contained 60 seats in a mixed pattern of
cross and lengthwise seating, and room for a total of 280
passengers. Cars built for the IND throughout the 1930s (R-1
through R-9) retained the same basic design and mechanical systems. The
R-1’s riveted shell and utilitarian green paint epitomized the somber,
industrial look of the Depression years. Yet the train also
inspired a classic swing number, composer Billy Strayhorn’s “Take the A
Train.”

After experiencing the 1930’s IND R1-9 cars… Bill also gave us the
chance to experience the oldest cars on the train --- the 1910’s BMT
B-Type Standards. It was not really safe to walk between the two
different styles of cars, so when the train stopped at the 175th Street
stop (on the A Subway Line) to let the rest of the passengers off… Bill
brought us up to the BMT B-Type Standards by walking the station
platform.

While pretty much having the 1910’s cars to ourselves as we rode
between 175th Street and the 207th Street Yards… Bill also expounded on
the history of these gems that the museum owned.

The B-Type Standard Cars were built in the mid-to-late 1910’s for
the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company. The equipment would become part of
the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit (BMT) Corporation in 1923 following the
previous company’s bankruptcy. BMT grew during the 1920’s and 1930’s,
operating the greatest majority of the rapid transit and streetcar
lines in Brooklyn… with extensions into Queens and Manhattan. In June
1940, BMT sold all of its transit operations to New York City, which
wanted to have all subway and elevated lines municipally owned and
operated. When they were rolled out for the first time, the B-Type
Standards were considered very innovative… as they had glass all around
the car body, including door pockets and the off-side front panel. Drop
benches could provide additional seating by closing off door panels
during off-peak service and end doors could be opened throughout the
train from the conductor’s position.

Midwest Rail Rangers Education Officer Kandace Tabern enjoyed the
ride… saying, “It was like going back to that era --- the 1910’s and
1930’s --- and experiencing a time gone by. The “clickity-clack” of the
wheels, the lights flickering every once in awhile… and yes… there was
even no air conditioning on one of the hottest days in New York City
this year. But it was actually bearable to ride in these historic cars
because they had fans and enough cross ventilation. Being able to ride
in these historic cars was such an amazing trip. We would like to thank
the museum and the hard workers that made these trips possible.”

It’s not only the passengers on this excursion and us who were
impressed with the cars… they are regularly used for movies that are
filmed in New York City. In fact, some of the cars that we were riding
on were going to be cleaned up for a movie shoot planned for the
following Tuesday (be sure and watch out for these cars when “In the
Heights” is released on June 26, 2020!)

Following our arrival at the 207th Street (the end of the A Subway
Line), we were delighted to partake an impromptu tour of the MTA’s
207th Street Yard/Maintenance Facility and Overhaul Shop. The outdoor
yard, which was originally constructed for the B Division, extends
north from 207th Street to 215th Street. It serves as the home yard for
the R32s, R46s, and R179s that are used on the A and C.
There is a car wash here. The 207th Street Shop is one of two
heavy overhaul shops in the New York City Subway system (the other
being the Coney Island Yard in Brooklyn) and it provides for the
overhaul and rebuilding of some A Division cars as well as most B
Division rolling stock. The yard stores cars that are being retired or
awaiting scrapping, and it also restores cars designated for the New
York Transit Museum. It also contains a garbage transfer station.
Formerly, the retired cars that were stored at the yard were stripped
of usable parts such as seats and doors, historic memorabilia such as
roll signs, and toxic materials such as lubricants and asbestos, after
which the cars were scrapped or sunk into artificial reefs

South of the yard, connecting tracks lead to the IND Eighth Avenue
Line. A separate connecting track and flyover leads to the IRT
Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. A major rehabilitation project for the
yard took place in 2016.

Perhaps your future travels to the New York City area can include one of the New York Transit Museum’s “Nostalgia Rides”.

Upcoming excursions include a trip on Sunday, August 18, 2019
(“Remembering the Myrtle Avenue Elevated”)… Saturday, September 28,
2019 and Sunday, September 29, 2019 (“Parade of Trains at Brighton
Beach”)… and Friday, October 6, 2019 (“Woodlawn Cemetery”).
“Nostalgia Rides” are also traditionally been offered some weekends
between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Even better why not become a member of the New York Transit
Museum? Membership levels begin at just $40 for students and
seniors… $60 for individuals... $75 for couples… and $90 for
families. For more details, check out: Become a Member - New York
Transit MuseumOne benefit of membership is the opportunity to get
tickets for the museum’s members-only tours of the Old City Hall subway
station and other historic sites. These tours go on sale several times
a year, typically in January, April, and August. Tour tickets sell out
extremely quickly. The next round of tickets for tours and excursions
will go on sale to members on Wednesday, August 14th.

Besides Bill Wall, we would like to thank Chelsea Newburg and Kendra Syke

We hope you
enjoyed this article/trip report from Midwest Rail Rangers on
TrainWeb.com. If you did, we hope you are also interested in learning
more about the Midwest Rail Rangers. We are an independent 501(c)(3)
non-profit organization that provides on-board educational programs on
private rail excursions, Amtrak coach charters, regular runs of the
South Shore Line on select weekends, and we make appearance at various
outreach events such as TrainFest and MadCity Rail in Wisconsin. Our
group of experienced Interpretive Guides have also written a series of
railroad route guidebooks, e-books, and MP3 podcasts for the various
passenger train lines across the Upper Midwest and across the United
States. Check out our website at www.railrangers.org for more information and our listing of upcoming excursions and trips!

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Wisconsin 53122 - board@railrangers.org - Voice Mail Box: (847) 271-1979
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